NZIFF Announces Guest Selector for Short Film Competition

NZIFF Announces Guest Selector for Short Film Competition

Jane Campion will be the Guest Selector for the New Zealand International Film Festival’s (NZIFF) only competition strand, the New Zealand’s Best short film competition.  

Six selected New Zealand shorts will premiere in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch where audiences in Auckland and Wellington are encouraged to vote for their favourite short from Campion’s shortlist. Previous Guest Selectors have included Leon Narbey (2018), Gaylene Preston (2017), Lee Tamahori (2016), Christine Jeffs (2015), Andrew Adamson (2014), Alison Maclean (2013) and Roger Donaldson (2012).  

New Zealand director, producer and screenwriter Jane Campion is the only female director to receive the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival (1993) and the second of four women ever to be nominated as Best Director at the Academy Awards (1994) for The Piano. Jane studied at the Australian Film Television and Radio School and her first short film, Peel (1982), won Best Short Film Palme d’Or in 1986 at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1989 Jane directed Sweetie, her first feature film, and in 1990 An Angel at My Table about New Zealand author Janet Frame. Subsequent to the multi-award-winning The Piano were, The Portrait of a Lady (1996); Holy Smoke (1999); In the Cut (2003);  Bright Star (NZIFF 2009) and the mystery thriller Top of the Lake (2012), a six-hour TV mini-series which Jane executive produced,  co-wrote and directed three episodes for the BBC and the Sundance Channel. Jane completed production on the second Top of the Lake series in 2017 (NZIFF 2017) which she created, co-wrote, directed two episodes and executive produced.  

91 submissions were received for the New Zealand’s Best competition this year with the programming team at NZIFF team shortlisting twelve films for Jane to consider. “It was moving and invigorating to watch the twelve shortlisted short films and experience their energy, raw talent and the occasional truly sophisticated achievement” says Jane Campion.  

This year’s New Zealand’s Best finalists will be eligible for four prizes. Madman Entertainment will again support the title award, the Madman Entertainment Best Short Film Award. The cash prize of $5,000 is donated by the Australasian distribution company. The winner will be chosen by a three-person jury appointed by NZIFF and Madman Entertainment.  

The Audience Choice Award will be selected by audience members who attend New Zealand’s Best screenings in Auckland and Wellington. Audience members will be invited to rank the finalists and the film that receives the highest rating will win a 25% share of the box office takings from the New Zealand's Best screenings in the four main centres. In 2018 this prize was $4,800. 

The Creative New Zealand’s Emerging Talent Award is a cash prize of $4,000 and recognizes a fresh voice: film-making that gives life to stories of those less often represented in film, or that speaks to new or existing audiences in different ways. The winner of this award will be selected by the jury. 

The Auckland Live Spirit of The Civic Award is a newly created award to be selected by the jury and has a $4,000 cash prize attached. 

NZIFF is run by a charitable trust and encourages lively interactions between films, filmmakers and New Zealand audiences in 13 towns and cities around the country. The full NZIFF programme will be available from Tuesday 25 June for Auckland, and Friday 28 June for Wellington. NZIFF starts in Auckland on 18 July and in Wellington from 26 July in 2019. 

Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion: Film Review

Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion: Film Review

Directors: Alexander Astier, Louis Clichy

The Asterix the Gaul comic books have a kind of timeless innocence to them.

Largely predicated on the adventures of the Gaul and his large chum Obelix's fight against the marauding Romans, the comics follow a relatively tight narrative edge.

Chiefly, Asterix and his team face insurmountable odds and the use of the Magic Potion helps to save the day.

In this latest CGI animated outing, there's a sense of the timelessness on show again, which is both to the film's advantage and also to its detriment.

When druid Getafix injures himself collecting berries for the secret potion, he decides that it's time to appoint a successor to the magic ways and ensure the potion's mystery doesn't die with him.

So he packs up Asterix and Obelix into his quest - but before long, the Romans are taking advantage of their absence...

Asterix & The Secret of the Magic Potion is genial enough fare.

It gets by on its aforementioned timelessness and innocence more than anything. And while the animation's similar to the Peanuts movie, it's not startling enough to stand out as anything revolutionary.

That's not to detract from the film's overall desire to play it as family fare, which it does surprisingly well, but it does feel occasionally like some smarter edges could have been deployed for the benefit of the audience.

Voice work is solid enough, and the simple plot means the film skews younger than anything.

But in a day and age where animation is expected to deliver meta touches, to engage all ages, and to entertain in perpetuity, it may feel like it falls a little short. As a piece of family fare though, it can't be faulted, thanks to an energy of exuberance, an abundance of good will and an enthusiastic run-time which doesn't outstay its welcome.

XBox approach to PC gaming

XBox approach to PC gaming

We believe the player should be at the center of their gaming experience and be able to harness the unique benefits of the devices they choose to play on.

Nowhere is that belief more important than on the PC. As the creators of Windows, we have a unique responsibility to ensure we’re investing in experiences that benefit players everywhere, while respecting the PC community’s preference for an open, highly customizable platform.

We’ve not always lived up to our aspiration of keeping gamers at the center of everything we do when it comes to the experience they’ve had on Windows.

Today I’d like to share three steps we are taking to contribute to the thriving PC gaming ecosystem:

Introducing Xbox Game Pass Designed for PC Players

Two years ago, we launched Xbox Game Pass on Xbox One, and since then we’ve seen how valuable a curated library of high-quality games can be for players and game developers alike. It offers a great way to discover and play your next favorite game. We researched whether a similar opportunity exists for PC players and PC game developers, and we believe that it does. We also considered the importance of bringing something new and additive to the PC gaming ecosystem, and we believe that we can. So, we designed a service specifically for the needs of PC gamers and PC game developers. It’s called Xbox Game Pass, just like the original, but it’s a new experience that we are building together with the PC community.

Xbox Game Pass for PC will give players unlimited access to a curated library of over 100 high-quality PC games on Windows 10, from well-known PC game developers and publishers such as Bethesda, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Paradox Interactive, SEGA, and more. And just as we committed on the console, it is our intent to include new games from Xbox Game Studios in Xbox Game Pass for PC the same day as their global release, including titles from newly acquired studios like Obsidian and inXile. We’re working with over 75 developers and publishers to bring PC content to the service and we’ll ensure the library remains curated and full of great PC titles across a variety of genres, with new games added every month.

Xbox Game Pass for PC members will also receive discounts in the Microsoft Store on Windows of up to 20% on games currently in the library and up to 10% off related game DLC and add-ons.

We look forward to sharing more at E3, including the great games coming to the library, as well as more details on when and how you’ll experience the new Xbox Game Pass service for PC gamers.

More Choice in Where to Buy Xbox Game Studios Titles

Enabling gamers to play together, through cross-platform play and cross-network play across Windows 10 PCs and console, is vitally important. Building communities across all of those players, regardless of the store or platform they’ve chosen (console or PC), is also vitally important because it helps bring players together, allows games to find their largest audience and allows gaming to deliver its true potential of uniting people around the power of play.

With that in mind, our intent is to make our Xbox Game Studios PC games available in multiple stores, including our own Microsoft Store on Windows, at their launch. We believe you should have choice in where you buy your PC games.

In March, we announced that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will come to PC later this year, launching on Steam in addition to the Microsoft Store on Windows. We will continue to add to the more than 20 Xbox Game Studios titles on Steam, starting with Gears 5 and all Age of Empires I, II & III: Definitive Editions. We know millions of PC gamers trust Steam as a great source to buy PC games and we’ve heard the feedback that PC gamers would like choice. We also know that there are other stores on PC, and we are working to enable more choice in which store you can find our Xbox Game Studios titles in the future.

We want to bring players together to create a shared player community regardless of where they play, so it’s our intent that new Xbox Game Studios titles include features such as voice and text chat, LFG, friends lists and cross-play across PC and console. On Windows 10 you’ll find this functionality in the Xbox Game Bar, which we’ll continue to evolve and expand.

Supporting Win32 Games on Windows 10

We want creators to be inspired to bring their best content to Windows 10, and we want Windows 10 to be the place where gamers come to discover their next favorite PC game. We recognize that Win32 is the app format that game developers love to use and gamers love to play, so we are excited to share that we will be enabling full support for native Win32 games to the Microsoft Store on Windows. This will unlock more options for developers and gamers alike, allowing for the customization and control they’ve come to expect from the open Windows gaming ecosystem.

When I think about the role we play as a company to support and evolve gaming on Windows, it’s critical that we make decisions that reinforce the open nature of the PC, focusing on how best to unite players on all devices around the games they love. That philosophy will guide us as we introduce new ways to discover and play games on Windows.

These are just a few of our steps in a journey to contribute to gaming on Windows 10. We know that PC gamers want to see games, so I hope you’ll join us at our annual Xbox E3 2019 Briefing on Sunday, June 9 to hear more, including the amazing lineup of new games and offers coming to PC players.

Wild Animal Kills Challenge in Red Dead Online Plus Head For The Hills Mode, Land of Opportunities Bonuses, Care Package and More

Wild Animal Kills Challenge in Red Dead Online Plus Head For The Hills Mode, Land of Opportunities Bonuses, Care Package and More 

Introducing the Wild Animal Kills Challenge and Head For The Hills Mode

Also This Week: A Land of Opportunities Bonuses, 2-Step Verification Gift and More

Prove your status as a big game hunter in the new Wild Animal Kills Challenge. Accept an invite to this new Free Roam Event to pit yourself against other sportsmen with weapons and offensive attacks against other players disabled – so the focus of this Free Roam Event is squarely on the hunt.

Points are awarded based on the size of the animal, with small animals worth one point, medium size worth two, and large animals worth three. As the challenge unfolds, prized and especially dangerous predators like wolves, cougars and bears will emerge… take them down for bonus points.

Also live today is Head For The Hills, a new Showdown Mode where players take turns making a last-ditch run across no-man's-land to their safe house, while opponents have only one objective: to hunt you down. Stake out the high ground, hide in the shadows or stalk your enemies out in the open, but don’t let them get to safety. We will also add two more new Showdown Modes over the next two weeks - stay tuned for details on Public Enemy and Sport of Kings coming in the weeks ahead.

Earn bonus Cash and Gold in certain missions from A Land of Opportunities. This week, new players will earn a bonus RDO$50 for completing the first mission, Honor Among Horse Thieves. Earn a bonus RDO$75 for completing Kill Them, Each and Every One; and a bonus 10 Gold Bars for completing Destroyed by Grief.

This week also brings a new Showdown Mode inspired care package for everyone, visit your Camp Lockbox or Post Office to pick up a gift of:

• 5x Potent Miracle Tonic
• 5x Potent Snake Oil
• 5x Potent Health Cure
• 5x Potent Bitters
• 120x Express Revolver Ammo

Wheeler, Rawson and Co's latest clothing updates this week include the Flora Corseted Chemise and Paddon Shirt tops - along with limited supply of the Plaid Cap, Racoon Hat and Shaffer Chaps. You can also now feign outrage with the new How Dare You emote.

This week, we're also awarding the unique and exclusive tint of the Racoon Hat pictured above to anyone who has 2-Step Verification on their Social Club account, including those who enable it this week (who'll also receive 10 Gold Bars for Red Dead Online and GTA$500,000 in GTA Online).

To switch on 2-Step Verification for your Social Club account, go to https://socialclub.rockstargames.com/settings/mfa

Join us for our very first Red Dead Online community live stream this Friday May 31, 5pm Eastern on the official Rockstar Facebook, Twitch and YouTube channels. We’ll also be putting out a call on our Twitter tomorrow looking to round up a few community friends to Posse up with as we’ll be playing on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We’ll be getting into all sorts of rip roaring action from the latest update, from this week’s new Head for the Hills Showdown Mode to taking on Free Roam Missions and Posse Versus Challenges to some hands of Poker at the saloon and more. Look for more Red Dead Online and GTA Online live streams to be announced in the weeks and months ahead. Subscribe and follow for all our go-live notifications:

twitch.tv/rockstargames
youtube.com/rockstargames
facebook.com/rockstargames

EA announces the launch date for Sea Of Solitude

EA announces the launch date for Sea Of Solitude

EA ANNOUNCES SEA OF SOLITUDE IS COMING JULY 5 WORLDWIDE

Beautiful EA Originals Adventure Game by Jo-Mei Games Unfolds a Deeply Intimate Story of a Young Woman’s Emotional Journey to Overcome Loneliness

Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and visionary German studio Jo-Mei Games announced that the story-driven adventure game Sea of Solitude will be launching worldwide on July 5, 2019 via digital download on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Origin™ for PC.Sea of Solitude is an emotional experience that takes players on a personal journey to overcome a young woman’s inner loneliness. Players must help Kay see below the surface and beyond, guiding her through a flooded city landscape in a deeply touching tale of darkness and light. As waters rise and fall to reflect her own state of mind, Kay will meet fantastical creatures and monsters, learn their stories and solve challenges to rid the world of tainted memories.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season 3 - Date Announce & First Look Images

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season 3 - Date Announce & First Look Images

YOUR POWERS CAN’T SAVE YOU, JESSICA JONES.

Netflix announces that the final season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the ground-breaking, award-winning series about a New York City private investigator with incredible strength will launch all 13 episodes globally on Friday, June 14.

About Season 3: When Jessica (Krysten Ritter) crosses paths with a highly intelligent psychopath, she and Trish (Rachael Taylor) must repair their fractured relationship and team up to take him down.  But a devastating loss reveals their conflicting ideas of heroism, and sets them on a collision course that will forever change them both.

The series is executive produced by showrunner Melissa Rosenberg (Dexter) and Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel's Jessica Jones, Marvel's Luke Cage) who also serves as Marvel’s Head of Television. Marvel’s Jessica Jones is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.

Season three cast also features Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Trilogy), Eka Darville (Empire), Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Jeremy Bobb (Russian Doll), Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Tiffany Mack (Hap and Leonard), Jessica Frances Dukes (The Good Wife), Aneesh Sheth (New Amsterdam) and  Rebecca DeMornay (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle).

Follow Marvel’s Jessica Jones on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Godzilla: King of the Monsters: Film Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters: Film Review

Cast: Godzilla, Ghidorah, roadan, Mothra, Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Thomas Middleditch, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Charles Dance
Director: Michael Dougherty

It's sound, fury and utter levels of stupidity which are the order of the day for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, a film that makes less of a case for a cinematic universe than Godzilla and his Kaiju ilk deserve.

Picking up five years after Godzilla stomped through San Fran, decimating the streets and killing indiscriminantly, the film wisely harnesses its focus on Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga's parents Mark and Emma. Separated after the loss of their son in the carnage, and with a daughter (Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown) living with her mother, Mark is a lost soul.

Whereas his former wife, Emma, has developed the Orca (a MacGuffin of the highest order) used to placate the Titans roaming the earth. However, when it appears that Emma and her tech have a breakthrough, it's stolen in a shoot-out at shadowy clandestine organisation Monarch, orchestrated by Charles Dance's baddie. Seemingly intent on raising the Titans from their respective global dormancy, Mark finds himself - along with various grunts and other one-note characters - thrust into the fight to save the day and prevent a repeat of the destruction of five years ago.

Godzilla: King of Monsters is a maddeningly average, and at times, awful film.

Muddy dark visuals mar what transpires on the screen (so much so, it's on a par with Game of Thrones' dark battle for Winterfell), terribly written human characters shout and do little to advance the story other than to bark exposition.

It exists solely to provide Kaiju carnage, as the film lurches as much through its 132 minutes as Godzilla going through a sea of treacle.

It's not what the Monsterverse wanted or needed; and while the parents-torn-apart trope is a well-worn one, the actors aren't given much to work with. With the exception of Bradley Whitford who relishes every syllable of lunacy dripping from his mouth, the main cast struggle through paper-thin motives and less than impressive character "arcs".

In terms of the monsters, the Kaiju and their subsequent fights are impressive - when you can make them out. Cast against dark backgrounds, and lit only to service storyboard outlines it appears, they work as forces of nature and destruction like they should. But the poor lighting of the film sees you straining, when you should be being doused in eye-popping action, not pondering if you need glasses.

Ultimately, in Godzilla: King of The Monsters, Dougherty and the gang try to have their Kaiju cake and eat it.

But by neglecting the humans to deliver only rote moments and by muddying the action, the film emerges as a gigantic bum note, a monstrous mess that does little to service the Godzilla legend and more to bury it in the sea forever.